


Solitude's End

by awintersrose



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Awkward Flirting, Love at First Sight, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-15
Updated: 2017-05-15
Packaged: 2018-11-01 04:19:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,388
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10914204
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/awintersrose/pseuds/awintersrose
Summary: Gentle beginnings bring about unexpected change.





	Solitude's End

**Author's Note:**

  * For [raendown](https://archiveofourown.org/users/raendown/gifts), [Cassandras_Dream](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cassandras_Dream/gifts).



> I know it’s KakaYama Week, but I was unable to get this idea out of my head, and have been fiddling with it in small amounts for the past couple of weeks. This is for you guys, as you started me down this path - @raendown @cassandrasdreamworld
> 
> This is just a tiny bit of fluff set in an AU in which the revived Hokages were able to live again, if they wished to, after the Fourth Shinobi War. Might add on to it, feel free to let me know what you think.

It starts softly, as these things sometimes do, like a breeze that settles as gently as a whisper along heated skin, bringing comfort, and bringing balance.

The first time Tobirama sees him, Tenzou is in the village square planting hydrangea bushes with steady hands, coaxing the plants to take root, little by little. The mokuton user is a mystery to him and a curiosity. None but his brother have ever shown such promise with the power, and even if it is by virtue of a mad genius’s experiments, there is something about the young man that makes it impossible to look away from him. There is a sense of quiet devotion in the captain’s aura, as though every plant he touches is precious beyond compare, and safe within his care. His chakra shines so brightly, like a captive star in Tobirama’s head, a magnetic force that draws him in, until the comely young man senses him there and looks up from his work with a kind smile.

“Is there something I can assist you with, Nidaime-sama?” he asks, in a voice so calm and rich, that Tobirama swears he can feel its weight on the air around him.

In that moment, something within him shifts. Tobirama has heard many say they felt the earth move when they first laid eyes on their true love, but his response has always been to roll his eyes and recount the ways that those reactions are merely a conditioned biological response to ensure survival of the species. He has never felt such a thing before, and up until now, considered such sentiments to be nothing more than mythical flights of fancy, and figments of imagination meant to color mundane lives with a thread of magic they may otherwise never know. Now he knows, and nothing will ever be the same again. He has to do something.

“Nidaime-sama?” Tenzou asks again, in hopes that the trembling in the pit of his belly is not visible from where Tobirama stands watching him.

The older man is very hard to read, and it doesn’t help that he is the living embodiment of everything that Tenzou admired growing up. The sensei to his very first sensei, the creator of jutsu so advanced and dangerous that most of them are locked away and forbidden. It was not coincidence that led Tenzou to choose to wear the happuri instead of the standard hitae-ate when he was still Kinoe of ROOT.

The Nidaime Hokage had been a legend that Tenzou clung to in his formative years, and then in the weeks after the war, while he recovered from the trauma incurred during his imprisonment and use by the enemy, he discovered that legend to be one now living among them once more. When he was afforded the chance to see the revived Hokage from afar, he discovered Tobirama to be every bit as handsome as his photographs in the Tower, and in that moment he felt the lifelong weight of hero-worship and something else more intoxicating crash through his mind and body.

It is no wonder that right now the former Hokage’s presence alone makes Tenzou’s heart turn somersaults within his chest, especially at a time when he is as disheveled and dirty as he must be, after gardening these last couple of hours as part of his therapy.

“I apologize for disrupting your work, but for as many times as I have seen the gentler aspects of mokuton at work, I always find myself spellbound,” Tobirama says softly.

“That’s quite alright, my lord. I myself never get used to seeing life spring from the earth in these ways either. It’s a reminder, I suppose. That our powers can be used to create, and give life, not just to destroy or defend.” Tenzou smiles again and stands, brushing the soil from his gloved hands onto his pants.

“Might I join you for a while?” Tobirama asks, catching a hint of surprise in the younger man’s expression.

Tenzou can feel his cheeks burning as he nods, then clears his throat.

“Yes, Nidaime-sama.”

“You can call me Tobirama.”

“I’m sorry sir, I don’t know if that is appropriate?” Tenzou smiles nervously. He has heard that this man has a particular obsession with adhering to proper decorum and expressions of respect. Tenzou cannot for the life of him understand why the Nidaime would flout it for someone as inconsequential as himself.

“It would please me a great deal if you did. And also if you told me what name you prefer to be called. I understand there are special circumstances there.” Crimson eyes scan his face nonchalantly, and Tenzou can feel the blush deepening along his cheeks with a vengeance.

“Yes, my lord. I mean, Tobirama. I go by Yamato in public these days, but my chosen name is Tenzou.”

“A true pleasure to make your acquaintance, Tenzou,” Tobirama says blithely, hoping his voice doesn’t break or do something equally as embarrassing. He does not know how to flirt in that effortless way that Hashirama does, but nevertheless, he tries to maintain his most pleasant expression. This conversation is already so far out of his comfort zone, that he is certain that it is only a matter of time before Tenzou finds a way to make his escape.

“The, um, pleasure is all mine,” Tenzou stammers, taking off one glove and offering his hand.

Tobirama looks down, taking the captain’s hand in the normal gesture of camaraderie, attempting to ensure his grip is not too firm. He has been known to be overly harsh in this manner, and does not want that to occur now, not with this man. Tenzou’s hand is warm, calloused like his own from years of wielding weaponry, and a thrill runs through him at the casual brush of skin. Then Tobirama looks up and finds himself looking straight into fathomless dark eyes that seem to see straight through his motives, and he knows he has been holding onto Tenzou’s hand for just a bit too long.

“My apologies,” Tobirama says, gaze still locked onto those midnight eyes. “But I am not sure I wish to let go.”

“Pardon me, sir?” Tenzou stares at him incredulously, and his heart resumes its general acrobatics within his chest, as he is certain he is not hearing this correctly. There is nothing he could want more than to be noticed by this man, but he knows it to be impossible.

Tobirama releases his hand and wants very much to be swallowed by the earth at this very moment for letting those words slip, but once they do, there is no turning back. He scrambles for the right course of action, the right words to say. If only he could suggest…

“Dinner. I am sure this seems hasty, but I would like to perhaps…talk to you apart from your work. Would you care to join me after I assist you with the rest of the planting? I have just the jutsu to assist with watering them quickly.”

“Ah! Uhm, yes! I’d like that very much!” Tenzou tries to keep the smile from spreading over his face, but he cannot hold it back.

Together they make quick work of the task, and they part with an agreement to meet at a certain civilian run restaurant that evening. Dinner is a relaxed and enjoyable affair, as once the ice is broken, it turns out they have much to talk about, as Tobirama is still becoming acquainted with the changes of the modern world around them. For the first time since the war, Tenzou, who has always felt forgotten and set apart from the rest of the world, finally does not feel so alone.

Several hours later, Tenzou invites Tobirama to his apartment for a nightcap, and when they abandon that excuse and share a kiss for the first time, it happens again, that shift within the soul. With the taste of Tenzou’s lips sweet upon his own, Tobirama feels as though an empty space within his being is slowly becoming filled with that calm, warm presence that Tenzou radiates as easily as breathing. As Tobirama discovers the beginnings of love for the first time, he is ever the more grateful for a second chance to live. This time, he will make it count. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading, I truly hope you enjoyed it! 
> 
> If you did enjoy it, please leave kudos or a comment to let me know what you thought - all feedback is like creative food for hungry authors :3
> 
> Follow me on Tumblr: [awintersrose.tumblr.com](http://awintersrose.tumblr.com)


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